Lun-class ekranoplan

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The Lun-class (Russian: "Hen Harrier") (NATO reporting name: "Utka") (Russian: "Duck") ekranoplan was an extremely unusual "aircraft" used by the Soviet & Russian navies from 1987 to sometime in the late '90s. Wing-in-ground-effect aircraft use the extra lift of their large wings when in proximity to the surface (about one to four meters).

The sole vessel of her class, MD-160 entered service with the Black Sea Fleet 1987. Eight JSC Motorostroitel NK-37 turbojets were mounted on forward-located canards, each delivering 127.4 kN (28,600 lbf) of thrust. MD-160 had a flying boat-like hull with a large deflecting plate at the bottom of the hull to provide a "step" for takeoff.

[edit] General characteristics

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Displacement: 286 tons (350 full load)
Length: 73.8 m (242 ft)
Wingspan: 44.0 m (142 ft)
Height: 19.2 m (63 ft)
Draft: 2.5 m (8.2 ft)
Armament: 6 x fixed-elevation SS-N-22 Sunburn anti-ship missile launchers, 1 x 23 mm PI-23 Twin AA gun (2,400 rounds)
Radar: 1 x Puluchas search radar
Electric power: Two 200 kW (268 shp) gas turbines
Range: 1,860 km (1,000 nm) at 240 knots (440 km/h)
Endurance: 5 days
Crew: 6 officers, 9 enlisted